The Australian government has drafted a bill giving social media platform users a clear choice regarding the nature of the content that appears in their feeds. Under the proposal, platforms would have to notify users and offer a choice between a feed containing personalized content recommended by algorithms and a feed limited to posts from people and accounts they follow.
Choosing to opt out of algorithmic recommendations would mean that, according to the government, the user would see only content from accounts they follow. The source did not provide technical details about how this option would be implemented or whether it would cover all types of feeds and features within each platform. The text presented is also a bill, not legislation that is already in force.
Additional Obligations to Protect Minors
The bill also includes rules targeting digital services that could negatively affect people under 18. Digital services would be required to protect young people from design features that could harm them, as well as content that encourages eating disorders or criminal activity and posts promoting hostile ideas toward women or gender equality.
The government said the aim of this step is to give Australians greater choice regarding the platforms they use and the content they watch. The proposal therefore combines giving users greater control over the source of content with imposing additional responsibilities on digital services when dealing with younger users.
What Would Change in Practice?
If the bill is passed in its proposed form, platforms would have to design a user experience that lets users know whether their feed relies on automated recommendations and then choose an alternative limited to followed accounts. As for minors, services would need to review design features and content that could expose them to the harmful patterns identified in the bill.
This step follows the entry into force of another Australian regulation on December 10, 2025, which imposed restrictions on access to a number of social media platforms by people under 16. The platforms subject to those restrictions include X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, and Snapchat, as well as Reddit, Twitch, Threads, and Kick, for a total of 10 platforms.
The rules related to the minimum age provide for a fine of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars if companies fail to take reasonable steps to remove the accounts of children under 16.
Why Does This Proposal Matter?
The importance of the bill lies in the fact that it focuses not only on the user's age or the removal of specific content, but also on how content itself is ordered. It proposes requiring platforms to give users a choice regarding the role of recommendation systems in shaping the feed, while leaving implementation and oversight details tied to the bill's passage. Questions such as the scope of the platforms covered, the mechanism for verifying implementation of the option, and the definition of harmful design features still require clarification in the final text or subsequent regulations.